February 2009 Archives
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February 27, 2009
Friday Culture Word: ltk/some kind of dry measure
Take a look at these words in their respective languages. Sumerian: lidga Akkadian: litiktu, latāktu in Old Akkadian Ugaritic: ltḥ Hebrew: לֵתֶך Syriac: ltk In the only example in context provided by CAD L, 217, the word is used in...Read all of "Friday Culture Word: ltk/some kind of dry measure"
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:45 PM
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February 26, 2009
Serabit Al-Khadim Restoration Project
Anyone who has spent much time thinking about ancient Semitic languages has worried at least a little about the Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions that Flinders Petrie discovered in 1905. Petrie found those first Proto-Sinaitic inscriptions at Serabit Al-Khadim in the Sinai. It...Read all of "Serabit Al-Khadim Restoration Project"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:12 PM
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February 25, 2009
Lost and Found Kinglist Fragments
Roger Pearse directs our attention to the discovery of lost fragments of the Turin Kinglist. This papyrus lists Egyptian kings from the mythological past to the 12th century BCE. Bernadino Drovetti, an Italian adventurer of the early 19th century, discovered...Read all of "Lost and Found Kinglist Fragments"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:24 PM
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February 23, 2009
Seals and Abecedary from Umm Tuba
The Israel Antiquities Authority has announced the potentially important discovery of two personal seal impressions, four lmlk jar handle impressions, and a part of an abecedary. All this is from a small salvage excavation at Umm Tuba, a little south...Read all of "Seals and Abecedary from Umm Tuba"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:10 PM
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Like All Protestant Music
I've been reflecting on Saturday evening's concert and on the 20th and 21st century music concert Shirley and I attended yesterday. What is it about much of this contemporary classical music, this new music, that gives me the most grief....Read all of "Like All Protestant Music"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:06 AM
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February 22, 2009
An Entertaining Program
Last night Shirley and I went to the concert. That isn't all that unusual but the concert sure was. It was the 17th Annual Ussachevsky Electronic Music Festival at Pomona College. Somehow, we'd managed to miss the previous 16. The...Read all of "An Entertaining Program"
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:32 AM
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February 21, 2009
The Power of the Big House
Yesterday's culture word was hkl meaning palace or, secondarily, temple from Sumerian é.gal, big house. Well, another common Near Eastern term also originally meant big house, Pharaoh, , pr-ʿɜ, the person who lives in the big house. Obviously, referred to...Read all of "The Power of the Big House"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:24 PM
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February 20, 2009
Friday Culture Word: h(y)kl/palace, temple
But perhaps this culture word has a more limited linguistic and geographic range than some we have seen. All the words in the following list of languages and words mean palace or temple (a god's palace). Yes, there are a...Read all of "Friday Culture Word: h(y)kl/palace, temple"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:16 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
February 19, 2009
Floating Akkadian Prayers
Alan Lenzi is floating a very interesting project. If you haven't seen it as yet drop by Bible and Ancient Near East and take a look. I, for one, think the success of such a project has more than an...Read all of "Floating Akkadian Prayers"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:14 PM
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February 17, 2009
Home, Sweet Home
Paul Krugman writes on his New York Times blog, Everyone should be paying attention to the political/fiscal catastrophe now unfolding in California. Years of neglect, followed by economic disaster — and with all reasonable responses blocked by a fanatical, irrational...Read all of "Home, Sweet Home"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:45 PM
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February 16, 2009
Monkey Morality
Monkeys and apes have a sense of morality and the rudimentary ability to tell right from wrong, according to new research. [Times on Line] Here's part of what Frans de Waal of Emory says about his most recent research, I...
Posted by Duane Smith at 9:20 PM
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February 14, 2009
Quotation of the Day
Public open access to the products of the public's money is nowhere near as important as Congress' open access to lobbyists' money. - John Hawks Please read John Hawks' Weblog for the context of his words....Read all of "Quotation of the Day"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:03 PM
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January 2009 Journal of Near Eastern Studies
The latest issue of The Journal of Near Eastern Studies is now available. The table on contents and abstracts are online. The two papers are Oren Tal, "On the Identification of the Ships of kzd/ry in the Erased Customs Account...Read all of "January 2009 Journal of Near Eastern Studies"
Posted by Duane Smith at 2:48 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
February 13, 2009
Friday Culture Word: *sndn(?)/linen(garment)
Here's yet another list of languages and words. This time all the words mean linen or the like. Akkadian: saddinnu, sadinnu, šaddinnu Greek: σινδών linen Hebrew: סָדִין Jewish Aramaic: סְדִינָא To this list one might add Arabic سدن (sadin), "fat,"...Read all of "Friday Culture Word: *sndn(?)/linen(garment)"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:26 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
February 12, 2009
Darwin at 200
Today would have been Charles Darwin's 200th birthday. One can count on one hand the number of scientists who are his equal when it comes to revolutionizing a field of study. It turns out that this elite group is also...
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:19 AM
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February 11, 2009
A Few of Simple Questions
Well, questions that are simple enough to ask: To what extent is it useful to consider languages nonlinear systems? To what extent is it useful to consider dialect geography a nonlinear system? To what extent is it useful to consider...Read all of "A Few of Simple Questions"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:11 PM
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February 10, 2009
Room for Confusion
One David Moulton famously asked, "Why is American beer served cold?" and then answered, "So you can tell it from urine." Did the ancient Mesopotamians have a similar problem? Sumerogram KÁŠ = beer Sumerogram KÀŠ = urine Yes, they are...Read all of "Room for Confusion"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:09 PM
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February 9, 2009
International Septuagint Day
Oops it was yesterday. But that doesn't matter. What matters is that the Septuagint and more generally the Old Greek translations of the Hebrew Bible and other related material provide one of our best windows into the history of that...Read all of "International Septuagint Day"
Posted by Duane Smith at 7:34 AM
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February 8, 2009
Filling In The Blank
NT Wrong came out of hibernation long enough to post-post a 37th Biblical Studies Carnival, for December 2008. Had he not awaken for the occasion, we would have missed a lot of good stuff....Read all of "Filling In The Blank"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:57 PM
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A Lie Well Told
Think what tedious years of study, thought, practice, experience, went to the equipment of that peerless old master who was able to impose upon the whole world the lofty and sounding maxim that "Truth is mighty and will prevail"-- the...
Posted by Duane Smith at 1:22 PM
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No Sympathy
But considerable concern. Alun explains his "incontinence" at Archaeoastronomy....
Posted by Duane Smith at 10:48 AM
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February 6, 2009
Friday Culture Word: ks/cup
Here's another list of languages and words. This time all the words mean cup. Sumerian: kuzi Akkadian: kāsu Ugaritic: ks Aramaic: כָּסָא Arabic: ىاس Hebrew: כֹּוס Mankowski, 63, also cites an Egyptian reflex, ku=ti2 (following Hoch's system). Without doing more...Read all of "Friday Culture Word: ks/cup"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:38 PM
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February 5, 2009
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVIII Is UP
Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVIII is up at Judy’s Research Blog. Judy has done a great job pulling this month's carnival together. I think she did it with very little input from the academic bibliobloging community. Publishing one of these carnivals...Read all of "Biblical Studies Carnival XXXVIII Is UP"
Posted by Duane Smith at 4:44 PM
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February 3, 2009
Why Do Lacuna Always Come at the Wrong Place?
Or scholarship and sex can coexist if you have abnormal interests. Warning: this post is rated between PG-13 and R for language (but not mine) and adult content! In order to address one of the issues raised by a referee...Read all of "Why Do Lacuna Always Come at the Wrong Place?"
Posted by Duane Smith at 8:44 PM
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February 2, 2009
The Mark Twain Project
One of my abnormal interests is Mark Twain. I don't write about him all that much because even pretending to keep up with the secondary literature in any one field is nearly impossible and I have recently focused more on...Read all of "The Mark Twain Project"
Posted by Duane Smith at 3:22 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |
February 1, 2009
Capricious Official Harassment or Official Ignorance
Security officials threatened Chris Brady, the Targuman, with missing his flight for taking pictures at an airport. He wasn't in the security area where taking pictures is illegal. And yes, he further offended the security officers by talking to his...Read all of "Capricious Official Harassment or Official Ignorance"
Posted by Duane Smith at 12:17 PM | TrackBack (0) | Abnormal Archive Link |